Vanya and King
by Andrew's Slinky
Summary: Abigail found him in that place, Danica after him, his self-control waning, but Vanya had saved him, given him the cure, slept in the same bed for warmth and comfort, and he would always be grateful for that, for her, and her love. before & during movie
1. Saved

Disclaimer: I only own the plot and any characters you do not recognize unless otherwise specified.

Summary: Abby found him in that horrid place, Danica always after him, and his own will to resist the urge to drink quickly waning. But Vanya was the one who had saved him. She took him from that place, and nurtured him, slept in the same bed for comfort and warmth and finally fell in love with him, and forever would he be grateful for that.

"So where is this place?" asked Vanya as she leaned over Sommerfield's computer and searched the archives.

"Just outside of town, we do a clean sweep, no leftovers." Replied Abby as she strapped her favorite silver dagger inside her boot and loaded her bow with arrows.

"Okay, but you say that every time and every time there are stragglers." Replied Vanya with a shake of the head and a shrug.

"Not now Vanya, just load up." Remarked Abby as she finished suiting up and headed off to finish her play list, she was feeling a little heavy metal tonight.

Vanya sighed and exited her computer program before grabbing her favorite, and deadliest, weapons. She knew that she and Abby should get along better, they went out there and trusted each other with their lives, but their relationship just seemed to work.

"I wanna go too." Whined Zoë, Sommerfield's daughter as she saw the two passing women armed to the teeth.

"Not tonight, Fairy." Answered Vanya as she ruffled the girl's hair affectionately. She had a soft spot for the munchkin that she called Fairy, and her mother. They, along with Hedges and Dex and Abby, had become her family, even if they didn't always get along or agree.

"Boo." Grumped Zoë as she trailed the redhead.

"Fairy, stay inside." Warned Vanya as she and Abby slid into the SUV and revved the engine.

Zoë waved goodbye forlornly as she watched the large, blue vehicle pull away, taking two of her favorite people away with it.

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"So, clean sweep…" started Abby.

"No leftovers." Finished Vanya with an eye roll, Abby's love for a clean sweep was starting to annoy her, she knew that it was best for her, Abby, Dex, Sommerfield, Zoë, and the rest of the world that they took out the vamps quickly and efficiently, but sometimes there were just too many to get them all before they escaped into the sewers.

"This it?" asked Vanya as they came upon the seemingly deserted warehouse just outside of town.

"Yeah, that's it." Replied Abby with a nod as she slid her headphones into her ears and blasted the stereo. Vanya smiled to herself as she shut off the engine, grabbed her lucky pistol and the pair of deadly women walked through the dark towards the vamps.

"Where are these suckers?" asked Vanya as she and Abby stalked through the halls of the warehouse.

"Dunno, we should have found some by now." Replied Abby, the hair on the back of her neck starting to stand on end, she wasn't liking this.

"Look." Whispered Vanya, pointing towards the ceiling and Abby looked at her quizzically, not understanding what her counterpart was pointing to.

"The windows, in the day it would let in too much sunlight, they're underneath."

"Underneath, there isn't an underneath." Abby shook her head, they had just chosen the wrong warehouse, there were several within a couple of miles, and the computer had been wrong before. (Only once mind you, but still, it counted.)

"Look, trapdoor." Said Vanya in triumph, her finger pointed towards the floor this time and Abby shook her head, a small smile on her face as she followed the redhead towards the aforementioned trapdoor, Vanya seemed to see things that she always overlooked until the last minute, it was like she looked specifically for the unexpected.

Vanya jumped blindly into the dark hole in the floor, Abby following her. The pair stood stock still for a moment, in case it was a trap, but when nothing tried to attack them, they started down the corridor and then down a ladder to the real level that was lit dimly.

"Told you."

"Shut up."

They split when they reached a fork in the hall and Vanya went to the left. She kept every sense as open as she could, her hand gripping the worn handle of her lucky pistol.

She came upon a catwalk situated above a large table where several vampires sat. They were playing cards! Vanya was already annoyed, she knew that vamps tried to be like humans, but they weren't and it annoyed her to no end that they acted innocent.

She counted silently in her head…eight…enough for her to get into trouble but not so many that she'd need backup. So she cocked her pistol, and leapt from the catwalk down onto the table, scattering cards and poker chips everywhere.

"Hey, miss me?"

She heard several hisses of annoyance and then gave a yelp of surprise when her legs were swept out from under her.

"Ouch, what the hell?" she growled as she rolled off the table and landed on her feet, lifting her pistol and firing off several shots. Three vamps went down in ash. But the other five were on her like a swarm of flies and she felt the sticky blood run down her neck as she hit the floor. She wasn't sure what she had been hit with, but it hurt like a mother.

She rolled onto her back and kicked the vamp off of her, firing two more shots and two more went down in ash.

"Get off me!" she shouted as she twisted and turned when the remaining vampires all grabbed her and started to rip at her.

She shot two more but the last one was obviously the eldest, yet no idiot. He hit her, tossing her into the card table and ran, he needed to warn his sister.

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Abby listened silently for any sign of her undead quarry, but found nothing. She had obviously taken the dead end and she was starting to turn around to help Vanya when she saw the light in front of her. She decided that Vanya could take care of herself and headed towards the light, bow aimed and ready.

She reached the door and very gently pushed it open. She came face to face with what she guessed were at least a dozen vampires, and all of them were ready to attack.

She shot the first three that came at her and managed to dispatch five more with her stake and a few well-aimed punches. This left her only four to deal with.

One flew at her and she tried to side-step but the bitch brought her down as well by snagging onto her wrist and Abby rolled around the floor with the undead woman, trying her best to reach her weapons and keep the vamp from biting her.

"Get…off…of…me." She growled low as she finally got a hit in and sent the vamp flying backwards into the far wall. The other three didn't pause and came after her. She dodged a few punches but received a few as well, but she had to get to that door, she just knew that there was something about it that was special.

She finally dispatched of the vamps and waited a moment to catch her breath before barging in the final door, but what she found she did not expect.

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"Oh King, baby, don't you wanna play?" purred Danica as she stalked around her very favorite plaything; a teasing smile on her lips but it didn't reach her cold eyes.

"Go to hell." Spat the man named King as he tried his best to shrink away from the woman stalking him like he was her prey. He was so tired of Danica and her games.

"Oh King." She gently ran her fingers across his scalp, and if it had been anyone else King would have reveled in the touch but since it was Danica he was revolted, her touch disgusted him.

"Don't fuckin touch me, bitch." He growled as he jerked his head away from her hands and she groaned. She hated it when he played hard to get. Her reflexes were so fast that she managed to grab the side of his head and snap it against the nearest wall before he could even grab another breath.

He swayed on the spot for a moment until he hit his knees on the hard concrete floor. Danica licked the sticky blood from her fingers.

"Now Hannibal, you should play nice." She purred as she finished his blood. King looked away, revolted. He may be a vampire, but he hadn't become one by choice and what he had to do to stay alive, the people he had hurt because the thirst always won out, his soul couldn't bear the thought.

She grabbed his head and wiped some of the blood off the wall. She held it under his sensitive nose and he tried his best to get away from it, get away from the delicious smell and what it did to him, the demons inside that it woke. But her grip was too strong, she had been feeding, but he, on the other hand, had taken only what he had to, but his soul still felt it was too much.

But the sticky red substance smelled so wonderful, it made his mouth water, and he didn't want to drink it, but the thirst would always win and before he could stop himself he ran his tongue across one of Danica's fingers.

She smiled wide at him and offered another but he pulled back, already revolted with himself and his weakness.

Danica growled low and her eyes flashed before she jumped him, shoving him to the ground with her knees, landing on top of him, she was straddling him, oblivious to the noise outside. She had him pinned and even though she was a relatively small woman, that he could have easily overpowered if he were up to full strength, he wasn't and so she was winning.

She placed the blood under his nose again, but he was determined to be stronger than the thirst and just as she started to force feed him, a large slam was heard and the door swung open.

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"Abby!" the woman in the door spun on her heel, her bow in her hands and caught sight of her partner. Vanya was perfectly all right, no one was chasing her, she was merely alerting the brunette to her presence.

"Not now Vanya." She replied as she aimed her bow right at Danica. The second woman entered the room and was enough of a distraction that Danica leapt to her feet, swung out and hit Abby, hard.

"Abby!" shouted Vanya as she looked over for reassurance that her colleague was okay before turning to a fleeing Danica and aiming a shot. Judging from the look on her face, Abby guessed that she had missed.

"You okay Whistler?" asked Vanya as she helped the other woman off the floor.

"I think so." Nodded Abby, feeling the lump on the back of her head.

"Good, we got stragglers."

"I know, I saw." Replied Abby as she fitted her bow once more and aimed it over at the man who had yet to move from his place on the floor. She pulled the arrow back, but never got a chance for release.

Vanya reached out as quickly as she could and snagged her counterpart's wrist.

"Wait."

"For what?" asked Abby, exasperated, as she turned to look over at the redhead next to her. Vanya didn't say a word, her dark eyes trained on King's still form.

"If your going to kill me," his voice gravely from misuse, rang through the room, "then just fuckin do it already, I'm damn tired of this life, if you could call it that." He had yet to move or open his eyes to see his would be murderers.

"That's what." Remarked Vanya and Abby rolled her eyes, Vanya had a gift for the odd and unforeseeable.

The redhead crept slowly towards the still man, in case it was a trap, but her heart told her it wasn't.

She reached his side and slowly reached out, when her warm skin made contact with his he hissed. She took a step back, but remained silent. She gently repeated the gesture and he melted, her skin against his felt so good, so warm, so…right. He opened his dark brown eyes and dragged them across her pretty face. She wasn't gorgeous, but she was very pretty, her eyes almond shaped and chocolate brown. Her hair was a deep auburn and shimmered, even in the dull lighting of his concrete cell. Both halves of him, human and vampire alike, were at ease with her there.

"You're coming with us, we're not going to kill you." She murmured quietly and he could swear that he had heard her wrong, he tried to tell her that having a vampire as a house guest wasn't exactly an experience that she'd want, but he couldn't get himself to protest.

She helped him sit up and then slowly stand, draping one of his arms around her shoulders. He could smell every ounce of her, the blood, the sweat, the citrus perfume, and finally something feminine and just…her. She smelled wonderful and he could feel his thirst kick in.

"Bite me, and I'll stake you." She warned, as though reading his mind and slowly, with Abby trailing behind them, they made their way through the tunnels and up the ladders and into the night.


	2. You Brought Home a Vampire?

"You brought home a vampire?" asked Sommerfield, outrage on her normally peaceful and wise face.

"He isn't…okay, yes I brought home a vampire, but you have the cure Sommerfield, if you can use it on us, why not him?" replied Vanya with conviction, she knew that she was right in saving King, she just knew it.

"I…I suppose that I could, but whatever possessed you?" conceded the older woman.

"I don't know, something about him, I just couldn't kill him, there wasn't any evil in his eyes and he didn't try to drink from me or Abby and both of us were bleeding. And besides, that other vamp, I think he said her name was Danica, she was force-feeding him, I couldn't kill him." She was trying to defend her actions, though she wasn't so sure how convincing her argument was.

"Very well, I'll give him the cure, but you are gonna take care of him, okay, he's your stray puppy." Warned Sommerfield, putting her cane in the air as though pointing a finger at the younger woman before her.

"I promise, scout's honor." Promised Vanya, sticking her fingers up in the Girl Scout salute even if Sommerfield couldn't see it.

The blind woman turned on her heel, muttering something about rash decisions and grabbed a needle with the cure.

"Administer this, it should take about three days for him to be cured, and then he can be a free man again."

"Oh thank you!" squealed Vanya as she took the needle, gave Sommerfield a quick kiss to the temple, and ran out of the room.

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She softly opened the door to the med-room that they had placed Hannibal in and found him passed out on the bed, his arm hanging haphazardly over the edge.

"King?" she asked quietly so as not to startle him, but he didn't even twitch, and she hated to wake him up, she doubted that she even could. A vampire that hadn't fed in a long time, as he obviously hadn't, would often go into an almost catatonic state when sleeping, something very close to a coma, until their body decided to wake up once again.

Vanya kneeled next to the bed, and gently took King's arm in her hand.

She inserted the needle quickly and shot the dark liquid into his blood stream. The second she pulled the needle away his eyes shot open in horror and he looked at her with fear.

"What the hell did you just put into me?" he asked her.

"Nothing, it's…it's a cure, Sommerfield made it, you won't be a vampire anymore." She tried to explain, but she only knew what the end result would be, not how he would get there.

"What?" he asked her in disbelief and she smiled at him.

"It's a cure, it'll get rid of the vampire genes within you and you'll be one-hundred percent human again, though you may retain some traits like enhanced senses or a more rapid healing time, things like that." She shrugged.

"But not the thirst?"

"No, not the thirst." She shook her head with another smile and he smiled back before sweeping her into his arms and kissing her right on the mouth.

Her eyes widened in surprise and before she had time to even think about kissing him back he let go of her and took a step back.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy." He apologized, tears in his eyes and she just smiled, still a little dazed.

"Its okay."

He smiled wide at her, and she resisted the urge to press her lips to his again, tempted to see if he was as good a kisser as he looked.

"How long will this take?" he asked her, suddenly much more curious about everything this woman had to offer him.

"Uh, Sommerfield said somewhere between three and five days, I dunno, its different for different people." She shrugged and he smiled, sweeping her into his arms again.

"Thank you." He murmured against the soft skin of her neck and she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him back.

"You're welcome." She whispered in his ear and she could feel him shiver beneath her touch.

He was biting back the thirst, cutting into his own tongue to keep himself from sinking his fangs into this completely biteable woman in his arms before sinking a completely different part of his body into her.

"King?" she asked softly when he stilled completely but kept her in his arms. He didn't answer her and instead quickly dropped her to her feet before backing away from her enticing neck as quickly as he could get his feet to move him.

"You okay?" she asked him, taking a step closer.

"Don't…you smell so…I just…you can't get that close until the thirst goes away." He shook his head vehemently and held out a hand to keep her at bay. She understood instantly and took several steps backwards.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I've never really been this close to a vampire before." She shrugged. He gave her an incredulous look and she gave him a sheepish grin.

"Well, not this close to one I wasn't going to kill." She admitted and he smirked at her.

"So you're not going to kill me?" he asked her softly, a teasing lilt to his voice.

"No, not unless you give me a reason to." She replied in the deadliest voice of seriousness that he had ever heard.

"A reason?"

"You go after the people that live here before or after your cure and I will kill you." She told him with such conviction that he didn't even shake off the uncomfortable situation with a joke. He knew that the people out there were precious to her and at that moment took a silent vow within himself that he would protect them with his newly found life.

"I should go, that cure is going to kick in soon, you should lie down, I have no idea how painful this is going to be." She soothed him and he took her advice and stretched back onto the bed, making sure to keep her at a distance.

She took a step towards him as though to place a comforting hand on his shoulder but he turned from her.

"You should go before your scent makes me do something we'll both regret." He told her a little sharper than he had originally intended and she smiled at his turned back.

"Get some sleep King, it'll be over soon, I promise." She told him softly before leaving, closing the door tightly behind her.


	3. Dreams

Screams awoke her and Vanya had never felt something so primal rip through her chest before. She was out of her bed and into the hallway before she could even register whose screams they were. They were much too masculine to be Abby, Sommerfield or Zoë and neither Dex nor Hedges ever had nightmares. That left King; she raced through the Honeycomb Hideout and reached his door before her shadow had a chance to catch up with her.

She opened the door quickly and entered the dark room; she flicked on the lamp in the corner and saw something that made her heart drop and shatter.

King was stretched out on the bed, his body covered in sweat and his shirt in a crumpled heap on the floor, laying there in nothing but his boxers in an attempt to get rid of the heat to alleviate what he was so sure was him burning in the flames of hell.

Screams were being ripped from deep within him and scratching his throat but he couldn't suppress them, couldn't hide the pain that he was in, if he hadn't already been dead he would have bet money that he was dying.

"King." She let that pained word drop from her lips before racing to his side and gently touching his shoulder. His temperature wasn't horrible, but he must be feeling like his insides were being melted from being so used to being nothing more than room temperature, if that, for so long.

"You're going to be okay, I promise, it'll be over soon." She tried to soothe him by running her fingers across his scalp, through his slightly dirty hair, but it didn't help. He was in too much pain to be soothed by such a gentle touch, he needed to feel something else, something to take his mind off his pain, but she didn't know what.

His arms shot out and captured her around the waist, pulling her down none too gently onto the bed next to him and he instantly curled into her body like Zoë did after a nightmare.

His ears instantly went right over her heart and his fingers clamped onto her wrists, feeling her pulse beat; the blood pour through her veins.

Vanya lay there in slight shock and a bit of fear. She had truly thought that he was going to bite her, but he merely wanted to hear her pulse. She had been told everything she knew about vampires from Abby, who had learned from her father, and she could remember something about a human's pulse relaxing a stressed vampire, and apparently it was true. King had stopped screaming and shaking, his body was still sweating and sticking the both of them to the once clean and dry sheets, but he had calmed and his breathing was under control.

She didn't know what he needed to soothe him, but apparently he had and she was grateful for that.

She gently wrapped her free arm around his back and hugged him close, the way she held Zoë, close, gentle, soothing, and it seemed to work better than she ever thought it would. His heavy breathing evened out and when Vanya looked down at him, he was fast asleep, his ear pressed firmly to her chest and his fingers still on her wrist. She ran her fingers down his back softly as her own breathing began to even out and her eyes dropped shut.

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Vanya woke up first the next morning and it took her a moment to realize where she was and who she was curled up next to. She looked down at King, who hadn't moved at all in his sleep and smiled. He looked innocent when he was asleep.

She gently removed herself from his grip with a bit of difficulty. He seemed to have a problem with letting go of her. She smoothed the hair on his forehead and kissed his temple gently, wishing him pleasant dreams and silently left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Vanya, what the hell?" thundered Abby as she saw her leave King's supposedly off-limits room.

"What?" Vanya jumped, looking surprised.

"What are you doing, you can't go in there." Abby grabbed the redhead's arm and dragged her away from the door.

"He was screaming…"

"Vanya." Abby shook her head, Vanya's bleeding heart was going to get her into real trouble some day, "His transformation is painful, he's going to scream."

"I just…" she trailed off again, her dark eyes trailing over the now silent door.

"I know you connected with him, and I know that you feel sorry for him, but you can't be in there, he could hurt you."

"He could, but he won't."

Abby sighed, exasperated with the woman, who in many ways was still just a teenage girl.

"Vanya, he could hurt you and if he gets scared enough he could even kill you, I may not like you, but I don't want you to die."

Vanya looked away, she knew that Abby was right, but when King screamed it was like it was her screaming, his pain was hers. She was connected, involved and as much as it scared her, she wasn't going to run from it.

"I won't do anything stupid, besides Sommerfield says he doesn't even have his teeth or bloodlust anymore.'

"Vanya, he may not want to drink from you, but if he's having nightmares he could unintentionally hurt you." Replied Abby.

Vanya didn't answer, she knew that Abby was right, but that didn't mean she had to admit it.

"Just promise me that you won't go in there without backup."

"Fine."

"Good, it's early yet, you should get some more sleep, we have another sweep tonight."

"Okay."

Vanya let Abby leave first and then stared at King's closed door for another minute or two, hoping that he wasn't going to hate her for leaving him alone without so much as a goodbye.


	4. Cured

It had been three days since King had started his cure but it was taking a bit longer than Sommerfield had originally intended. He was still ridding himself of the thirst when Vanya went to bed the night of the fourth day and prayed to God that it would all be over soon.

"Vanya." Someone had a death grip on her shoulder and was shaking her awake, she recognized the voice but in her sleepy state she couldn't quite place it. Her dark eyes fluttered open and went wide when she saw whom it was standing over her, excitement in his voice.

"King what is it?" she asked in slight alarm as she looked over at the clock, seeing that it was already five in the morning.

"I have to show you something, c'mon." he pleaded as he started to pull her out of bed.

"It's five in the morning, what do you want?" she asked him as he pulled the covers off and sat her up.

"I have to show you something, put on some shoes and come on." He replied quickly as he opened up her closet and tossed her a pair of black flip-flops. She looked at him incredulously but slipped them on anyway and stood.

"I should probably get dressed first." She told him and he turned to look at her. She was wearing a gray pair of short boy shorts and a light green tank top that complimented her hair and skin tone.

"You look just fine in that." He replied as he left her room. She smiled to herself and followed him, without changing.

"Where are we going?" she giggled as he latched onto her hand and pulled her along to get her to move faster.

"You'll see, I've been waiting to do this forever." He murmured in reply as he pulled her outside. She shivered as the cooler air coming off the ocean reached her barely covered body. King seemed to preoccupied with what he was about to show her to realize that he should be cold because he was wearing as little as she was. A thin white beater and a pair of board shorts that she guessed he had borrowed from Dex because they didn't fit him quite right.

"Okay, but hurry up, it is freezing out here." She managed before her teeth started to chatter and she wrapped her free arm around herself to try and create some heat. He pulled her down the gravel driveway and out onto the beach that was next to the hideout. Vanya quickly slipped off her shoes and padded after him, barefoot, King hadn't even bothered to put on shoes.

"King, what…?" he put his fingers to her lips and silenced her. They locked gazes for a moment and Vanya felt something tingle deep down in the pit of her stomach but before she could put a name on the emotion he turned from her and towards the ocean, spreading his arms wide. She watched him, unsure of what he was doing until the first rays of sunlight peaked up over the horizon and flitted across his face. Then she understood completely, this was his last test of his humanity, he was going to finally feel the sun on his face after five long years.

When the rays fully flooded him it took her breath away, she had never in her life seen something so devastatingly beautiful or such a peaceful look on someone's face. His smile grew and grew until she was worried that it would split his face. Then he did something she definitely wasn't expecting, he took off his beater and tossed it to the sand.

"King?" she asked but he ignored her as he stepped into the cool water that was lapping the shore and pushed off, swimming out until he couldn't touch.

"King! What are you doing?"

"Swimming!" he called back to her and she laughed.

"There are sharks out there!"

He just smiled and did a few strokes before immersing himself completely in the water. When he didn't resurface right away she ignored it, but then he was still underwater and she felt her pulse quicken. She had been kidding about the sharks, sure they were out there but she never imagined that they'd attack him, had she been wrong? She took a step towards the water only to see King resurface much closer to shore; he'd been swimming under the water.

"King, don't do that!" she scolded him as she placed a dramatic hand over her heart. He smirked at her as he got out of the water and she felt her breath disappear again. The water and sunlight combined on his skin made him glisten and even though his muscles didn't have as much definition that she knew they once did, it was still very distracting. She had instantly noticed that King was an attractive man when she'd gotten him out of that cell, but now that he didn't have a shirt and the water was dripping off his chest, making his shorts stick to him in all the best places, she could picture exactly what he would look like once he got his body back into the shape it had once been in and she wasn't complaining.

"C'mon and swim with me." He pleaded as he took steps towards her, knowing exactly what he was doing to her.

"No, that water is freezing cold in the mornings, I am not getting in there." She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, popping a hip out as though she were proving her point but he just smiled at her.

"What?" she asked him, the predatory look in his eyes not doing her body any favors. He smiled at her and stopped, just short of touching her, but she could feel the heat radiating from his body and it was making her mind a little hazy. He reached out quickly and wrapped her in his arms, sweeping her up against his chest.

"King!" she shrieked with laughter as he swung her around a bit before wading into the water and tossing her in, completely clothed. She surfaced coughing and glared at him as she slicked her hair back and away from her face.

"King, this water is freezing!" she called to him as she righted herself and crossed her arms over her chest. He didn't answer her; he just jumped back into the water with her, reaching her in just a few strokes of his strong arms. She treaded water and stared at him in disbelief.

"It isn't that bad."

She didn't reply, she merely let her teeth chatter as her answer and he chuckled but pulled her body close. She stared at him, not saying a word, but made sure to keep her arms across her chest, keeping their bodies a little further apart.

He rubbed her upper arms as the pair treaded water to try and heat her up.

"Feel any better?" he asked her and she shook her head, she was still freezing.

"Well then, lets try this." And he gently pulled her arms away from her chest, pulling them up and around his neck, effectively pressing their bodies as tightly together as he possible could while they were still clothed. She still didn't answer him, her wide brown eyes just studied his face, looking for an ulterior motive, but she couldn't find one. Their gazes merely locked and he lost the power of speech just like she did as his strong hands rubbed her back, massaging sore muscles, trying to warm her up to the best of his ability.

She just continued to stare at him and he slowly leaned into her, she unconsciously licked her lips and just as she could feel his warm breath brush against her they were interrupted.

"Vanya!" King groaned and put his head down as he released her and she put a bit of distance between them.

"What?" she called back to Abby, who was standing on the beach.

"What are you doing out there?"

"Swimming."

"Well come in, the both of you, we got work to do."

Vanya sighed and started towards shore, her arms slicing through the water with ease and King followed her silently.

When the pair reached the beach he pulled her close again and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you." He whispered in her ear before grabbing his beater and heading up the sand, towards the hideout.

Vanya smiled as she touched her still tingly cheek and headed after him, she knew that she had to save King.


	5. Training

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"Okay, if you're serious about fighting then you have to take these training sessions seriously, this isn't a game, this is life or death."

"I got it." Replied King, a little bored with the situation. Vanya sighed and pushed her hair out of her eyes.

"Don't get attitude Hannibal." She warned him and he gave her a cheeky grin.

"Fine, I'll be good, c'mon, lets do this." He took his stance and she smirked to herself before following his lead. She reached out quickly but he snagged her wrist, pulling her against him again and she knew that these sessions were going to mess with her hormones like crazy.

She twisted her body and hit him in the solar plexus and as he grunted and bent over in pain she pulled out of the embrace and put the entire distance of the room between them.

"Nice try, but no dice."

"C'mon, play just a little bit with me." He purred, his flirting reflexes coming back now that he had been around Vanya for about a week and a half.

"I don't know, you could have cooties." She told him, a mock serious look on her face, as she stopped her movement, standing before him.

He smirked and ran up to her, grabbing her waist and swinging her around in the air.

"King!" she shrieked, giggling.

He just continued to swing her around, and when he finally let her down, her entire body was pressed against his, and she turned her head to look up at him, and he looked down at her, smiling.

Abby watched the interlude and rolled her eyes, she and Sommerfield had decided that since Vanya had brought King home, she was going to be the one to watch over him, and train him and make him a part of the team. But now she was starting to wonder if that had been a good idea after all, the pair of them had a lot of sexual tension and that was going to mess with all of them. Without King they were a pretty good team, a small team, but a good team and messing with the team and its chemistry was something that bothered Abigail, she didn't want to lose anyone out there, because as much as she and Vanya butted heads she didn't want to lose her Romanian born friend, especially not to a vampire.

"Hey you two, c'mon, I thought you were supposed to be working out." Dex entered the room; a teasing smile on his face and the pair of hunters burst apart, sheepish grins on their faces.

"Sorry Dex, you wanna join in?" asked Vanya as she put some distance between herself and King.

"Nah, the two of you go ahead. I would however prefer not to come in here and find the two of you engaged in somethin…" he quirked an eyebrow, "…risqué."

Vanya blushed as King chuckled.

"Don't worry, that ain't gonna happen." Vanya assured him.

"Don't get too sure of yourself there princess." He teased her and she glared at him before spinning quickly and putting him in a headlock.

"Get sure of this." She growled as the pair twisted around the floor as King tried to keep his balance.

"C'mon sweetheart," he tugged on her leg, and then wrapped both hands around her ankle and flipped her off of him onto the mat covered floor.

"Ugh." She grunted as she landed on her back, her arms flying above her head, her breathing heavy.

"You ought to be more careful about who you attack." He smiled as he leaned over her and she smirked before raising a leg up and scissoring him, he landed on his stomach and she rolled over on top of him, pinning one of his arms behind his back.

"What is this? Pick on Vanya day? Why don't you just pay attention and let me train you, King?" she growled low in his ear, and despite the fact that the position he was in was painful King chuckled.

"I knew you were rough, but I never quite pegged you for the dominatrix type."

He could feel her grip on his arm tighten but he rolled and she landed on her back. He rolled again so that this time he was on top, his legs straddling the lower part of her abs, just above her hips, and his hands around her wrists, pinning her arms to the ground.

"This is better, I always preferred being on top." He grinned and she smirked.

"Yeah, okay."

She brought her legs up and wrapped them around his chest from behind. He grunted as she stole a bit of his breath and switched their positions somewhat. Now he was on his back, and her thighs were practically around his neck. He was kicking his legs, trying his hardest to buck her off, but her hips were too high on his body, he couldn't whip her off without smashing his nose into the ground and possibly breaking it.

"Look, you infuriate me to no end, all I wanted was to teach you to be a part of the team. You have to take this seriously." She ground out and he smiled as his brain caught what she said but also honed in on something else. She smelled really good.

She was so preoccupied with making sure that he was listening that he had enough time to use her own move against her, and wrapped his legs around her upper body.

"Ow." She grunted as the pair slid to their sides, her own legs still wrapped around his neck. He placed a strong hand on either thigh, trying to pry her off and cop a feel all at the same time.

"Hey, watch where you put the hands, buddy." She growled as she tried her best to push him off of her. He wouldn't let go and neither would she; they both tightened their grips at the same time.

"Okay, okay, truce." Called Hannibal and she paused.

"Okay, on three we both let go. One…two…three." Both hunters released their prey and both flopped to their stomachs, trying to catch their breath.

"Did you just try to cop a feel?" she accused when she could speak again and he chuckled.

"Well, what can I say, it's been a long time since a woman has wrapped her thighs around my neck." He retorted, making sure to put the double meaning into what he said.

"Shut up and go away Hannibal." She growled low as she pushed her way onto her hands and knees. He chuckled low again and she felt the little breath she had regained slip away again as he came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her slim waist, whispering into her ear as his body pressed fully into hers.

"Only if you give me my kiss."

She jerked her body and caught him right in the balls.

"Was it good for you?" she purred sexily before stepping over his body, which was now curled into the fetal position, and heading out the door.

Dex stood still rooted in his spot and laughed openly at his comrade who was still curled on the floor trying to resist the urge to throw-up.

--

"While I enjoyed the show, I don't think that was very productive towards teaching King to be a part of the team." Abby joined Vanya in her stalk down the hallway and the redheaded Romanian merely smiled over at her friend.

"Yes it did, it taught him that if he's going to mess around then he's going to get hurt, he has to listen to what I tell him or something bad is going to happen." She shrugged her shoulders and Abby smiled at her.

"That's pretty good." She acknowledged.

"Thanks, I just hope he gets the message before its too late, I mean we only have a certain amount of time to train him before Danica comes a hunting."

"You worry about that too, huh?" asked Abby as they reached Sommerfield and Zoë in the kitchen.

"All the time." Vanya acknowledged before putting on a smile for Zoë, who was sitting at the table coloring.

"How did your training session go?" asked Sommerfield, spinning on her heel and placing a plate with Zoë's lunch down in front of the little girl.

"Well, I think she taught him to wear a cup." Giggled Abby, snagging an animal cracker from Zoë's plate.

"What?" asked Sommerfield, turning to stare in Vanya's direction even though she couldn't see her.

"I taught him to take it seriously, this isn't a game." Vanya corrected, moving about the kitchen to get herself a lunch, and Abby something as well.

"He knows, humor is his way of coping with things." Sommerfield remarked in her quietly wise way and Vanya sighed, grabbing two bottles of water from the refrigerator.

"I know, but he can't do that when we're on the field, that's how people get hurt."

"He'll learn soon enough, sweetie, don't worry yourself, okay?" Sommerfield soothed, placing a gentle hand on Vanya's shoulder. The Romanian hunter sighed and nodded.

"Okay, I'll try."

--

Vanya sat in the rec room later that night, the wall on the clock ticking away the seconds between quarter and sixteen after three in the morning, a movie flickering on the television screen, but she wasn't really watching it. She could still hear the faint echoes of King's screams from the nightmare he must have just woken up from and she was waiting for him to come down. He knew that she had nightmares just as bad as his and she was always downstairs when he woke up in terror.

"Van?" he questioned into the dark lit up only by the t.v. and she looked at him over her shoulder and he gave her a lopsided smile.

"C'mon King, come watch this movie with me." She gestured him over to the couch and he jumped over the back of it, landing none too gracefully next to her and she smiled, bouncing from the impact.

"What're you watching?" he asked her and she sighed, looking at the screen for a moment or two.

"Uh, You've Got Mail." She replied as Tom Hanks showed up on the screen, talking to Meg Ryan.

"Oh, good movie."

"Yeah."

"You wanna talk about yours?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Not really, you?"

"Nope."

"So wanna just watch the movie?" she asked and he nodded. They were silent for a moment or two before he spoke up.

"I know this isn't a game. I'm trying, really, and next time I'll make it a little easier on you."

"Thanks, and I know you're trying," she placed a hand on his thigh, "I know you are."

He nodded and they sat in comfortable silence through the rest of the movie.

--

When Abby came downstairs the next morning at five, that was how she found them, sitting side by side on the couch, Vanya's head resting against King's shoulder, and King's head placed gently atop hers. Vanya's hand resting on his leg and King's arms wrapped around Vanya's shoulders, the You've Got Mail DVD still in the player. She was tempted to break them up, but didn't, knowing that their nightmares drew them together, so instead she pulled a blanket from the drawers on the far side of the room and covered the pair of them, letting them get a little more sleep before their day started.


	6. King's First Sweep

--

--

Alleyways always gave off the acrid smell of blood, booze, and sex. The one that Vanya was currently in was no exception and she was starting to wonder if tonight had been a good idea at all. She had only been training King for a little over a month, maybe he wasn't ready.

"What are we waiting for?" the aforementioned pain in the ass questioned his teacher as they stood together in the dark, waiting for the vampires that had just disappeared into the club to come back out.

"We are waiting for them to reappear, they won't attack anyone in public, too risky."

"So why don't we go in there and take them out?" King asked as he leaned towards her, and Vanya resisted the urge to punch him.

"Because, we can't be exposed King, I know you want to see some action, but you're going to have to be patient."

"Action? We could make our own."

Vanya blushed and punched him in the gut.

"Shut up."

King groaned and doubled over; Vanya was much more approachable than Abigail and he often forgot that she could kick his ass even though he had a good few inches on her and more than a few pounds. He sent her a dirty look and she shrugged, her sharp eyes narrowing in on the door that their prey was to come out of.

"You didn't have to hit me."

"You didn't have to hit on me." She retorted and he grinned.

"You didn't have to like it."

She punched him in the thigh this time, and again he groaned in pain, surprising even himself with how quickly he forgot.

"Be quiet Hannibal or next time I move the punch up and a little to the left."

He sighed and shifted his hips so his manhood was out of her reach. He knew better than to think that she wouldn't make good on her promise.

She watched him with a wry smile as Abigail's voice drifted into her ear, thanks to the trusty headset that Summerfield had built.

"Stop flirting with him and watch the door."

Vanya scoffed and placed a finger to the piece to make sure that Abigail could hear her.

"I am watching. What've you got on your side?"

Abigail sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Nothing. Something tells me that you're gonna have all the action."

Vanya blushed and willed herself to think of anything else than the man standing next to her, who had noticed her blush but didn't know the reason behind it. He wasn't privy to a headset.

"Okay, if we hit a snag I'll call for you."

"Okay."

King gave her a questioning look and she merely shrugged, knowing that next time she was sticking him with Abigail.

"She see somethin?" he questioned and she shook her head.

"Nope, looks like it's just gonna be you and me, Big Guy."

He smiled and nodded.

"I like the sound of that."

She ball tagged him.

"Ow! Come on!"

Vanya grinned and shifted her holster. She had given him fair warning, after all. He continued to cough and splutter, finally sobering up when she sent him a dirty look and raised her fist in warning. His pain was still there, she could see it etched on his face, but he was silent.

Not more than a minute later, three of the five vampires that they had followed to the club came out, each one of them looking more than a little disgruntled as the other two came out, humans in their grasps.

King took a step forward, but Vanya put an arm out to stop him.

"Wait." She murmured as she put a finger to the headset again, "Abigail, we got company."

Abigail didn't respond but Vanya knew that she was on her way, more than likely jumping roofs to reach them. The redheaded Romanian crept forward, her hand steady on King's wrist to keep him from blowing their cover as the vampires pinned their humans against the brick walls of the buildings surrounding them.

"Hey? How come we're never invited to these things?" Vanya questioned as she came out of the shadows, her gun already in hand. The three vampires not busy with humans hissed and started to flee, but met Abigail at the entrance of the alley, her crossbow at the ready.

The other two stood in front of the trembling women, trying to decide whether or not it was worth it to try and salvage their meal. The first stepped away from his girl and she took the opportunity to run as Abigail laid into the three before her, keeping them away from the girl as she headed onto the sidewalk and the safety of the lampposts and their pools of light.

Vanya stepped forward and grabbed onto the vampire nearest her, but he fought back, his fist connecting with the side of her head. Blood smeared her temple as his ring caught her skin and tore right through it like it was tissue paper.

King watched it happen and was paralyzed by the blood for a moment. He watched the trail of sticky red liquid make its way down the smooth, pale skin of Vanya's temple and he was temporarily transported back to being a vampire himself. The thirst that had overwhelmed him, the coppery taste that would hit his tongue and the few brief seconds that his vampire tendencies would take over before his human side erupted and he felt so guilty that he didn't drink again for weeks.

"King!" she hissed as the vampire wrapped a hand around her neck and she struggled, her hands clasped over his.

King jerked out of his reverie and started towards his teacher and friend but was blocked by the fifth and final vampire. They fought for a moment or two, throwing punches and aiming well-placed kicks.

Vanya continued to struggle, feeling her breath slip away. She kicked and scratched and twisted, but black spots were blinking before her eyes and no matter how hard she tried to blink them away they stayed stubbornly just on the edge of her vision.

Then she fell, hitting the asphalt below on her hands and knees, tearing the skin of her palms and the fabric of her jeans. She coughed and spluttered as she became lightheaded from the oxygen flooding her system.

"Vanya?"

King knelt beside her, his hand resting against the small of her back, his voice concerned. Vanya continued to cough, her hand on her throat as she attempted to regulate her breathing.

"C'mere." King wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her onto his lap, her back pressed tight against his chest.

"Breathe with me, Van, come on, breathe."

She started to take breaths that matched the rise and fall of his chest, mimicking what she felt.

"That's it, good girl." He soothed, an arm still around her waist, his other hand coming up to smooth over her hair, holding her close.

Abigail crouched down before her, concern in her hazel eyes.

"You okay, Vanya?" she asked and Vanya managed a small smile.

"Yeah." Her answer was raspy and hoarse but she didn't seem hurt too badly so Abigail nodded and let King continue to regulate Vanya's breathing for another moment or two as she looked around at all the ashes that littered the alley.

"Clean sweep, no leftovers."

Vanya smirked and shook her head as King finally relinquished his hold on her and helped her stand.

"That all you ever think about, Whistler?" questioned King jokingly, unwittingly voicing the latest thought to enter Vanya's brain.

Abigail just sent him a look and started towards the car, leaving Vanya and King in the alley, still holding hands.

"Thanks for saving me."

King looked down at the petite woman beside him with a small smile.

"No problem."

She smiled up at him before letting go of his hand and following Abbey out into the street.

For King's very first sweep, it could have gone worse.

--

Twenty minutes later they were back at the Honeycomb Hideout and Vanya's wound had stopped bleeding, but she was now covered in the red substance. The three hunters stepped out of the car, Dex exiting the driver's seat, his dark eyes following Vanya with concern as she headed up the stairs towards the showers.

"Vanya, Vanya!" Zoë came out her bedroom and ran towards her favorite hunter.

"Hey fairy!" Vanya greeted her with a large smile, bending down to the little girl's height, but Zoë stopped just short of hugging her, her eyes wide as she took in the blood.

"You're hurt." She sounded scared and Vanya felt her heart constrict.

"I'm not hurt too badly, fairy, I don't want you to worry, okay?"

Zoë looked unsure but nodded anyway.

"Okay, now I'll hug you when I'm all clean, I promise."

"Will you come in and say goodnight?" the little girl questioned and Vanya nodded.

"Yes."

"Will you sing to me?"

The huntress sighed, her body already protesting to being awake but she nodded to the little girl anyway, never having been able to say no to her in the first place.

"You got it."

Vanya smiled and stood, heading towards the showers, letting Zoë run over to King and Abigail and greet them.

--

She stood in the shower for a good thirty minutes; watching the blood, her blood, go swirling down the drain in morbid fascination. She didn't like blood, it came with the territory of being a monster hunter, but there was still something about it that seemed to fascinate her even when she knew it was hers and was washing into the drains. She didn't get hurt very often, but when she did it almost shut her down. It transported her back to the night her parents had been killed, and she never liked to go there, she visited it too often in her dreams.

"Vanya?" King's voice drifted through the door, and he sounded a bit concerned.

She didn't answer him; she just kept sitting on the shower floor, watching all the blood swirl across the linoleum.

"Vanya?" he sounded even more upset and worried than before. Again she was silent, hearing him but not being able to respond to him, her mind in a different place.

The door opened and King stepped inside the bathroom, worry etched on his face.

"Vanya?" he questioned one last time and she sighed, answering him.

"I'm here King."

His shadow appeared on the other side of the shower curtain, but he didn't pull it back.

"Are you okay in there?" he asked her and she put her head down on her knees.

"I'm fine King, I promise."

He was silent for a moment and she watched him through the curtain, half of her hoping that he would leave and the other half wishing that he would pull back the curtain and help her.

"If you're sure."

He didn't sound any more sure than she felt, but she voiced a hesitant agreement and he nodded, leaving her alone to watch her blood drain out and become embroiled in her own dark memories.

--

She finally exited the shower a little over an hour later and after getting dressed in her favorite pair of pajamas she headed down to Zoë's room, her hair still damp and a bandage on her temple.

"You still awake, Fairy?" she asked as she entered the room quietly. The little girl was fast asleep under the covers and Vanya sighed guiltily. She had promised to come in say goodnight and sing, and she hadn't been able to do either because she'd let a little blood get the better of her. She sat on the bed and brushed the strawberry blonde hair out of Zoë's closed eyes.

"I'm sorry I'm late Fairy," She whispered to the little girl before pressing a tender kiss to her temple. She watched her sleep for a moment more before heading out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. She walked down the hallway and completely by passed her own room; she was in no mood for the nightmares that she knew she was going to get that night. She knocked lightly on King's door.

"Come in."

She opened the door and stepped inside; her breath catching in her throat as she caught King standing by his dresser in nothing more than a pair of boxer shorts.

"Hey," he greeted her with a smile and she toyed with the edge of her tank top.

"Hi."

He looked worried at her silent fidgeting.

"What's wrong?"

She looked up at him, tears already in her eyes.

"Nothing, I'm fine." She lied right through her teeth. He gave her a soft smile and crossed the room in two large strides, enveloping her in his arms. She collapsed against his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. He hugged her tight, kissing the top of her head as she cried.

"It's okay, Vanya, it's okay."

They were both used to this. Whether it was Vanya sobbing or King unable to sleep because he was afraid, they were together almost every night, finding strength in each other.

"I'm sorry." She took a step back, wiping her eyes and King sighed.

"You don't have to be sorry."

She smiled up at him and they both chuckled a bit, as it got a little awkward.

"You stayin with me tonight?" he asked her and she nodded.

"If you don't mind."

He shrugged and led her to the bed, crossing over to his side and slipping between the sheets. She sat on top of the covers, feeling self-conscious even if she had done this before.

"You gonna get in or what?" King yawned, knowing that she was feeling a little out of place and as much as he wanted to tease her, he refrained.

"Yeah." She got under the covers and turned her back to him, "Goodnight Hannibal."

He smiled and rolled over, wrapping a possessive arm around her waist and tucking her shoulder beneath his chin.

"Night Van."

She stiffened in his arms, unsure of what was happening, usually they just slept, never touching, and certainly never cuddling.

"King what are you doing?"

"Making it a goodnight."

She shifted as though to leave and he tightened his grip.

"Just go to sleep Van, I'm only teasing."

She laughed and relaxed.

"Night King."

"Night sweetheart."

For King's first sweep, it could have gone worse.

--


	7. Aftermath andTickling?

--------------------------------------------------------------

Vanya woke up the next morning in a slight daze. She wasn't used to waking up with someone's arm around her and for a moment she panicked. She jackknifed into a sitting position, her hand reaching for the dagger that she kept under her pillow before realizing that she wasn't in her room, she was with King.

He slept soundly through her panic, which was the one thing that she could always count on him for, sleeping through anything and everything. She smiled down at him as he continued in his slumber, every once in a while a small snore escaping his throat. He was growing a beard/mustache/goatee thing that she wasn't entirely sure how to classify, but he seemed to enjoy it. His muscular definition was back, and she made him spar with her in a tank because she couldn't concentrate when he went shirtless. She was a monster hunter not looking for a relationship but she wasn't blind, even Abigail had admitted that King was drool worthy.

She sighed, running her fingers through her hair, missing her bandage by inches. She was still exhausted, even after a long nights worth of sound sleeping, she was still so tired that she could collapse, but she had to get up. It was common knowledge that she was the first one awake more often than not, she and Abigail had a small competition going, to see who was the first to wake up and she prided herself on winning ninety percent of the time.

She gently slid away from King, glad that he didn't keep his grip on her, and padded silently to the door, pausing only once to look over her shoulder at the man who had saved her. He kept her from the dark recesses of her own mind, allowing her to do her job but still be a woman, letting her cry even when he wasn't sure why, and holding her through the night. He was her savior just as much as she was his.

---------------------------------------

She could hear the coffee machine running as she walked slowly down the stairs and sighed heavily, glad that for once Abigail was awake before her and already ready with coffee.

"Hey Abbs." She greeted the other woman as she entered the kitchen, grabbing her lucky mug from the shelf and filling it with an intoxicating amount of coffee. She inhaled deeply before taking two very large sips of her black coffee from her black mug and Abby gave her a small grin.

"You stay with King last night?"

Vanya choked on her coffee.

"Excuse me?" she spluttered as Abigail thumped her on the back.

"Don't play dumb Van, you stay with him almost every night, and when you aren't in his room, he's in yours."

Vanya sighed and nervously drummed a tune on the side of her mug.

"The nightmares are too bad Abby, I can't do them alone."

Abigail nodded sagely, understanding nightmares.

"I know Van, just don't get too attached, okay?"

Vanya gave her an inquisitive look.

"Why? He goin somewhere?"

Abigail shook her head, taking a sip of her own black coffee before answering her Romanian friend.

"No, but he's on the front lines with us, and there are vampires after him to kill him, not because he's a hunter, but because he's him. He will never be safe from Danica."

Vanya choked down another sip of coffee.

"I know that, but Abby, he's…."

Abigail nodded.

"I know, but you have to be careful, we all do. I'm not saying we won't do our best to keep him safe, but, there is only so much we can do."

Summerfield entered the room at this point, Zoë in tow and the two female hunters quieted into silence, not wanting to worry anyone else.

"Hi Vanya!" Zoë raced over to the redhead and jumped into her arms, giggling as she was swung around.

"Hey Fairy, sorry I wasn't able to tuck you in, but my shower took a little longer than I thought it would."

Zoë nodded good-naturedly, understanding, even at the tender age of eight, what it was that her friends did. She hugged Vanya tight before dropping back to her own two feet and turning to face her mother.

"What's for breakfast?" she questioned and Summerfield laughed.

"You are always hungry." She reached down and tickled the little girl's belly, and Zoë shrieked with laughter as King came into the kitchen.

"No fair, are you having a tickle fight without me?" he asked and Zoë continued to giggle as she looked over at him, knowing that her favorite game was coming.

"Yes." She piped up excitedly and King growled playfully before lunging at her and pulling her towards him, his fingers dancing over her stomach and she giggled, collapsing into the man. King had only been at the Honeycomb Hideout for a little over two months but Zoë was already extremely attached to him, mostly because he was just an eight year old at heart.

Abby shook her head, grabbed her coffee mug and headed towards her office, already figuring out their next sweep. Summerfield set to work making French toast, the staple breakfast for Sunday mornings and Vanya watched King and Zoë romp around the kitchen in amusement until Zoë paused and whispered something in King's ear mischievously, then she started to get a little nervous.

"What're you two planning?" she asked as she viewed their identical smiles.

"Nothing." Zoë remarked innocently as she sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen to watch her mother cook.

"Yeah nothing." King shrugged, taking a few steps closer to his mentor. Vanya took a step back, setting her coffee mug on the counter just in case she needed to run.

"Nothing huh? It looks like something to me."

King grinned wolfishly at her before lunging forward at a speed she would have thought impossible, and swung her up and over his shoulder.

"King, what are you doing?" She shrieked in a cross between surprise, laughter and anger.

He just swung her around a bit, spinning on his heels, and then started off towards the living room, Zoë following him like a little duckling.

"We've decided that we want you to join in our game." He declared almost triumphantly as Zoë smiled at Vanya, who just glared at King's back.

"I hate that idea."

"Play with us, Vanya!" piped up Zoë excitedly as King dumped his trainer unceremoniously onto the couch and Zoë jumped onto her lap instantly, her tiny fingers digging into Vanya's sides, and despite herself Vanya started to laugh.

"Zoë, King, c'mon, no fair!" she shrieked in laughter as the little girl giggled away, enjoying the game far too much to be completely fair.

"Oh c'mon, Van, enjoy the game." King teased her, laughter in his voice as he grinned at his giggling trainer and the tiny eight year old on her lap. Vanya laughed and twisted her body so that she could sweep Zoë into her arms.

"Cheating!" the little girl cried in laughter and Vanya giggled with her, swinging her around before finally setting her back on her own two feet.

She stood before the huntress, a sweet smile on her face as she laughed and Vanya returned the gesture, reaching down once to tickle her stomach before turning her towards the kitchen.

"Why don't you go help your mother in the kitchen?" she questioned and Zoë took off, not bothering to look back at the pair she had left all alone in the living room.

"That is not a fair game." Vanya poked King in the chest and he laughed, turning his shoulder away from her pointing finger.

"Why not?"

"Because you aren't ticklish, and you know that I am."

"So?"

"So, I can't even retaliate."

He quirked an eyebrow and her smile dropped from her face as she realized what ammunition she had given him.

"Uh-oh." She managed before he had hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, his fingers dancing over her belly causing her to break into raucous laughter once more.

"King!" she shrieked as they fell back towards the couch and he continued to tickle her unmercifully as she shrieked in laughter.

His fingers dug into her sides and he made sure to revel in how soft her skin was. He knew that Vanya was off limits, just like he knew that Abby was off limits, but unlike Abby, he didn't want Vanya to be off limits and he constantly had to remind himself that she was. She was his trainer at the least and his friend at the most, they couldn't be more, but she was a stiffener if he ever saw one. And he had seen quite a few, so he took every opportunity to touch her that he could.

He let his fingers dance over her toned belly, up to the curve of her shoulder, her neck and then down to her knee and she tried to turn to get away from him, but he was much bigger than Zoë and much bigger than Vanya, so he had no trouble holding her down to be at his mercy.

"King, c'mon, no fair!" she shrieked as he continued to tickle her, his hands smoothing over the exposed skin her twisting had caused and she continued to laugh uncontrollably.

"C'mon, I can't breath!" she shouted and King smiled, stopping his dancing fingers, but leaving his hands on her waist, his rough palms resting on her toned stomach. She looked up at him, her face flushed and a pure smile on her face. He stared back at her, his breath all of a sudden caught in his throat. She was beautiful and he wanted her. His hands started to sweat.

"King, is something wrong?" she asked him, sitting up. His hands dropped from her waist and he took a step back.

"King? Hannibal?"

He shook his head as though to clear it but continued to stare at her as though he'd never seen a woman before. She got up off the couch and took his hands in hers.

"King?"

He blinked.

She led him over to the couch and had him sit down. She sat beside him, still holding his hands.

"King, you're scaring me, please say something."

He smiled at her, his entire face lighting up and leaned in to kiss her cheek. He gauged her surprise but ignored it and rested his temple on her shoulder, snuggling into her side. She sat next to him, her hand resting on his thigh, unsure of what was wrong.

"Okay, still scaring me."

He sighed and his head dropped down to her lap as he stretched out on the couch.

"I'm okay, I was just thinking…about last night." He lied through his teeth, knowing that if she knew what he had just been thinking, she'd beat him to a bloody pulp and then let Abigail have a go at him.

"What about last night?" she asked him, wondering if it had to do with the sweep or with what had happened between them afterwards.

"When you got attacked."

"It happens King, we were out on the field with real vampires, not in the gym with Dex and his fake fangs."

"I know, it was still scary."

She nodded in sympathy and started to play with his hair.

"I know. It doesn't get any easier, but if you're gonna be a hunter then you have to be able to push those things to the back of your mind."

He sighed, his hand coming to rest on her leg and wished that he could act out the fantasy in his head.

"Okay."

They stayed like that for a good hour until Abigail finally interrupted them.

"Alright you two, lets check out the next sweep. I hear Hedges has some new toys for us."


	8. Anger Fears and Nicknames

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three days later and Vanya, King, and Abby were out on the next sweep, some of Hedges new toys in hand. King had nearly danced for joy when what he had christened sundogs were introduced, and he loved them so much that he carried an entire case strapped to his chest as he stalked through the night, Vanya just around the corner, with Abby at the newest member's side, having lost the previous battle of rock paper scissors and letting Vanya take a break.

"Got anything, Abby?" Vanya questioned through the communication. Static crackled in her ear and then King's deep scratchy voice responded.

"Coast clear, teach."

Vanya sighed and rolled her eyes.

"King, how did you get the communication?"

He responded with a throaty chuckle that sent a small thrill to the pit of her stomach.

"Whistler sucks at rock paper scissors."

Vanya smiled despite herself.

"True."

She stalked to the top of her building and pulled out her collapsible binoculars with night vision and thermonuclear reader. (Another new toy of Hedges' invention.) She scanned the horizon of their perimeter but didn't see anything of importance. All the bodies scanned checked out at the appropriate temperature for a regular human being and there was no suspicious activity. It seemed like a regular night.

"See anything up there Tweetie bird?" King's voice broke through the silence and Vanya groaned.

"Tweetie bird?" she questioned. She could practically see King shrug as he answered.

"I'm trying out nicknames here, babe, I need to find the right one."

"Tweetie bird ain't it…and neither is babe. No, I don't see anything," was the rather snippy reply.

'Okay, okay, I'll think of something."

"King, you ever try just using my name, like you do for everybody else?"

There was a pause.

"No."

Vanya sighed and rolled her eyes, secretly pleased with the fact that King wanted to endear her with a nickname.

"Vanya?"

Abby's voice broke the silence and Vanya became confused.

"Abby? How did you get the comm.?"

Abby chuckled.

"I snapped King's neck and took it off his lifeless body."

Vanya could practically hear King whip around in a panic as she laughed along with her fellow female hunter.

"Make sure to drag his body back, we can't leave any stragglers."

Their laughter intensified.

"You got it, no stragglers."

Vanya sighed happily before picking up her binoculars and scanning the night. The heat reader started to go off and as she scanned over the group of people coming up the sidewalk they appeared blue. Vampires. She turned off the heat reader to get a better look at the faces and when she did her heart dropped.

"Abby?"

There was silence.

"Abby!"

"What's up Van?" Abby's voice drifted through the communicator and Vanya breathed a sigh of relief.

"We got company, and it isn't good."

"How bad?" was the curious reply.

"Danica."

There was silence. Then a small scuffle.

"Okay, we're on our way up."

Vanya could faintly hear King's voice drift through the still open communicator as Abby started to drag him to where Vanya was. Vanya packed up her gear and headed down the stairs to the street. She met King and Abby just outside the door to the building and King looked severely disgruntled.

"Why are we leaving?"

Vanya looked stricken so Abby took over.

"Uh, boring night, there was no activity, so we figured we'd just go home and rest for the night."

He didn't look convinced.

"But you said…"

Vanya broke in quickly, grabbing King's arm and starting down the street.

"Oh, forget what she said let's just go home and play with Zoe, she's been begging me to play Monopoly for the longest time."

King walked alongside her, arm in arm, Abby just behind him, but he kept looking over his shoulder.

"What were you talking about, though? What was bad?"

Vanya avoided the question and looked back at Abby.

"You okay Abbs?"

Abby nodded, looking over her shoulder to make sure that they were alone.

"Yeah, everything's good Van, let's just get home."

Vanya nodded.

"Sure, sounds like fun, a night off sounds awesome."

King looked around, disentangling himself from Vanya's arm and heading back in the direction that they had come from. He dodged around Abby and ignored Vanya's cries for him to return.

"Will you come back here?" she questioned, as she and Abby chased him back through the street. He ignored her.

"I want to know what's going on!" he called back to her, as he continued down the street.

"Oh for crying out loud, will you just…" she finally reached him and latched onto his arm, tugging her towards him. He looked down at her, his eyes sparking and she sighed.

"Fine, Danica is here, okay? That's who I saw, she's here with her many cronies and I didn't want her to see you."

His face lost all color and he started to shake.

"She's here?"

Vanya nodded, tugging him back towards Abby and in the direction of the car.

"Come on, we'll go home and hang out."

He followed her as though in a daze until they reached the car and started their drive home.

--------------------------------------------------------

"Hey," Hedges greeted them as they came into the Hideout, "did you get anything?"

King ignored him, stomping up the stairs to his room before slamming his door. Hedges looked around in confusion.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Vanya sighed and smiled at her nerdy friend, clapping him on the shoulder.

"No, its okay, he's a little upset. We saw Danica while we were out."

"Oh." Hedges nodded wisely, while he and King had never really talked about either of their pasts, he knew all about Danica.

"Yeah," Vanya sighed heavily and set down all her equipment. Abby headed off towards her office, intent on sweeping for Danica based on their new information. Vanya flopped down on the couch as Hedges went back to inventing. It had been a good twenty minutes and Vanya was just starting to drift off when King's door slammed open and he came angrily down the stairs.

Vanya sat up slowly and looked over at him, waiting for him to speak; she already knew what was wrong. He stalked around the living room for a few minutes, purposefully ignoring her staring at him and when it became obvious that he wasn't going to speak she laid back down and closed her eyes. She had just settled back down when he growled loudly and then she sat back up.

"Okay King, you're starting to sound like the wild kingdom, what's going on?"

He glared at her but didn't respond right away. He ran a shaky hand through his already wild hair and continued to stalk around the room. She watched him, waiting for him to finally break down and talk to her. He flopped down onto the couch next to her and she waited.

"I wish she was dead."

Vanya nodded, taking his hand.

"I know you do."

He groaned and his head tilted back to rest on the couch.

"I wish that I could burn her alive until she begged and screamed for mercy and I would ignore her, I'd be roasting fucking marshmallows."

Vanya nodded, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, letting him collapse into her, angry tears pouring down his face.

"Oh, honey." She was slightly disgusted at his exclamation but let it go, knowing that he needed to get all his feelings out. He was angry and scared and ashamed of what happened to him and he just wanted to have a little bit of revenge, he just wanted Danica to suffer like he had. He was only human after all, and while she didn't think that she could ever roast marshmallows while someone was being burned alive, she understood his rage and the fact that he wanted to kill Danica.

Abby passed through and averted her eyes, letting King have his breakdown in peace.

"I'm tired of being afraid of her."

Vanya nodded, running her fingers through his hair.

"I know, and I promise you, King, we are going to get her."

He sighed, sitting up on his own, completely breaking any touch they'd just shared.

"You can't promise me that."

"I can, hey, look at me," he looked up at her and she smiled, "I can promise you that, we are going to get her."

He grinned and gave her a chaste kiss.

"Thanks."

She smiled, blushing, because even as quick as the kiss had been she knew that if he were to ever really kiss her, it would stick her feet to the floor.

"Will I get to roast marshmallows?"

She laughed.

"Maybe."

He grinned and wrapped an arm around her.

"Sounds like a plan."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry this update is so late, I was really trying but I've been so busy that I just couldn't seem to get to updating my stories. I hope that you're all still with me on this one. Read and enjoy.

~Andrew's Slinky


	9. A Love Realized

Vanya shifted in bed and then jolted right awake, sitting up quickly, her breathing harsh. Her entire body was shaking, a small whimper leaking its way from her lips. She had nightmares constantly, there was no good night's slept in her past or her future, but tonight had been something else. Tonight was the material of horror movies. She took a deep shaky breath and slowly got out of bed glancing at the clock; three-thirty seven. She needed to see King, and she needed to see him now. She slipped into the hallway and walked the few yards to King's bedroom. She knocked softly on the closed door.

"King?" she questioned softly as she opened the door. She squinted as the darkness of his bedroom destroyed her vision.

"King?" she questioned again; walking into his room and towards his bed. He wasn't in it. She looked around his room and even in the bathroom that was attached to it. He was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he?" she thought out loud, her hands on her hips. He obviously couldn't sleep after what had happened the day before. He was in the workout room; he had to be. That was where he went to relieve stress. She shut his bedroom door quietly and padded silently down the hall, down the two sets of stairs and through the three doors.

He was shirtless, in nothing more than a pair of purple and green plaid boxers, sparing with the punching bag. Vanya smiled, he looked good. His technique was flawless, his muscles had come back with a vengeance and his back was quite possibly the sexiest thing she's seen in a damn long time.

She stepped softly across the room and reached out, tapping his shoulder. He spun with a speed Vanya had always thought impossible and backhanded her right across her face. She gave a small cry and spun, hitting the floor. She looked up at him in shock, her hand on her stinging cheek.

He looked down at her with a harsh look until he realized it was her and then his eyes got wide.

"Ah, shit, Vanya!"

He hit his knees next to her on the floor, reaching out gently to cup her face. He sent her a sheepish grin as she continued to look a little shocked.

"Remind me never to sneak up on you again."

He moved her hand off her cheek and gently swiped his thumb over the already growing bruise.

"I'm sorry, kitten."

She looked up at him inquisitively.

"Kitten?" she asked as his hand left her cheek to sit gently at the base of her neck. He nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, thought it up about an hour ago, you like it?"

She shrugged as he sat on the floor next to her.

"It'll grow on me."

His fingers threaded their way through her hair and she shivered; it felt good. His hands were strong, big, warm, and it felt good. He felt good.

That was an incredibly dangerous train of thought.

She scooted a bit closer but stopped suddenly when she realized what it was that she was doing. He leaned into her a bit and she took a deep breath.

"What're you doing in here?" she asked and he sighed, his head hanging.

"Just working out some stress."

She nodded, "Yeah, but did you have to work it out all over my face?"

He looked a little startled and regretful.

"I'm sorry about that." His free hand came up to cup her face, his other hand still buried deep in her hair. She sighed softly as he leaned in again, his breath brushing softly against her skin. She trembled just a bit and tried not to think of how good it would feel if he leaned in all the way and kissed her.

He shifted closer and her hand came to rest on his thigh. He shivered, and tightened his grip on her hair. Then a knock resounded on the door.

"Hey you two," it was Dex, and he looked amused.

Vanya jerked back and smiled over at her friend in the doorway, her hand dropping back to the floor.

"Hey Dex, what's up?" she asked as King groaned and stood, extending her a hand that she gladly took. He swung her up onto her feet with no effort at all.

"Abby wants the two of you."

Vanya nodded, "Sure, didn't realize that it was morning already."

Dex smiled and shook his head.

"It isn't princess, but she still wants to see you, says she's got a scary lead."

King and Vanya exchanged frightened and curious looks before passing Dex in the doorway and walking, together, towards Abby's office.

Vanya reached the door first and knocked lightly.

"Hey, Abs, got something?"

Abby turned in her office chair, never getting up, already fully dressed with a cup of coffee in her hand. She looked a little curious as to the state of various undress that her friends were in, but didn't comment with anything more than a raised eyebrow.

"Hey guys, I've got something huge."

Vanya and King entered the office and both leaned over the computer, trying to see what it was that Abby was seeing.

"Look here," she pointed to the red dots on the map on the screen, "those are all the places Danica and her cronies have been, all the places that they've lived in the past six months."

"All in the city?" Vanya asked and Abby shook her head.

"No, in the tri-state area, and look at this…" she typed in a few numbers and the map grew to show the entire east coast.

"And all these places too, in the last year."

King swore.

"Fuck me, what the hell are they doing?"

Abby shook her head, "I don't know, but there's something off about this, why move so much? What the hell are they looking for?"

"For me," King replied, sounding terrified and startled. Vanya put a comforting and gentle hand on his back, rubbing small circles.

"I don't think so, babe, you haven't left the city since we found you. They knew where you were. So the question is still, what or who are they looking for?"

Abby shook her head, not knowing the answer. King just looked down at Vanya, the softest smile on his face as he arched his back slightly to lean into her touch.

"So what exactly were the two of you doing that Dex discovered you both at once and dressed like that?" Abby questioned mischievously.

Vanya blushed lightly as King answered quickly.

"Before you ask any more directly, the answer is yes, we were having sex."

Vanya reached out and punched his arm, hard. He winced and rubbed the sore spot.

"Ow!"

"Serves you right," was the angry reply as Vanya headed out of the room and towards her bed. Damn the nightmares, she didn't care.

"Vanya, come on, I wasn't finished!" Abby called after her, but the redhead ignored her and slammed her bedroom door shut.

She paced around her room, angrier than she'd been in a damn long time. Not with Abby or even with King; she'd gotten used to and even sort of expected completely inappropriate remarks from him. She was angry with herself. She was angry that she'd let King worm his way into her heart so effortlessly. She was angry that she kind of liked him being there. She was angry that when she was scared he was the first person she thought of. She was angry that having sex with King wasn't the absolute last thing on her mind. In fact, if she were to look a little deeper into her own feelings, she'd realize that sex with King was always on her mind. When they worked out together and his skin would brush oh so gently against hers, when he'd smile at her and it sent deep shivers all the way through to her core. When he'd wrap a comforting arm around her and hold her close against his chest and she felt safer there than she had ever felt in her life.

She was falling hard for this man and she was angry at herself for letting it happen.

It wasn't like she tried to cut herself off from the world, she liked to be out among people, and she liked to talk to them. She was the most sociable person in the Hideout, besides King. She was always up for a cup of coffee and a chat in the morning with Abby, or a bowl of cereal late at night with Hedges and Dex. Hell, she was always in for a slice of pie at the local diner with King, although she was no longer sure if it was the pie or the company that she went for. She liked people, and for the most part, people liked her. This thing with King, though. It was dangerous. When hearts got involved in high pressure situations it never worked. Maybe King was the man for her, maybe they were meant to be, but what if they figured that out and they started dating and then on a sweep one of them got hurt protecting the other?

They protected each other as a unit all the time, but it would be different this time. Because being in love with someone meant that you disregarded the safety of the team in order to protect the safety of the one you loved.

It wouldn't work, it couldn't work. And damn her heart for breaking at that thought.

"Vanya? Kitten, let me in." King's voice resounded through the wood of her door and Vanya seriously contemplated letting him sit out in the hallway.

He scratched lightly at her door and called her nickname once again.

"Kitten, come on, you know I didn't mean anything by it."

Vanya gave in with a groan and opened the door. King stood in the hallway, still clad only in boxers, with a puppy-dog pout on his face. Vanya smiled.

"Hi King."

He smiled back.

"Hi Kitten."

He swept her up into a tight hug and Vanya let her heart break as she hugged him back.

"I didn't mean to get you pissed at me."

She shook her head, still buried deep in his arms as he walked her backwards into the room, kicking the door closed behind him.

"I'm not mad at you, King, I just have some stuff to work on, that's all."

He looked down at her, obviously not believing what she was saying, but when she didn't make any move to walk away from his embrace, he figured just how much trouble could he be in?

"Tired?" he asked her after a minute. She nodded sleepily. She was tired. For it only being about a half an hour since she'd gotten up, she was exhausted. King swept her up into a fireman's lift and set her back down gently on the bed. He tucked her beneath the covers and started to pull away. Vanya gripped his wrist.

Oh she was going to hate herself for this. It was only going to further damage an already shattered heart, but she was nothing if not a glutton for punishment.

"Stay with me," she mumbled into her pillow. He sighed heavily and sat down next to her, causing the bed to dip and her body to roll towards his.

"Okay, kitten, I'll stay."

He slid underneath the covers with her, and with her grip still on his wrist, he wrapped her tightly into his arms and spooned her body with his own. He set his chin lightly on her shoulder.

"Did you have a nightmare? Is that why you came to see me?" he asked after a minute. She nodded, already half asleep and he tightened his hold on her. He'd asked Abby once about the reason why Vanya had so many and such violent nightmares. She'd told him the entire story of Vanya's parents and how they'd been killed by the vampires that had plagued Vanya's hometown of Sighisoara, Transylvania, Romania. How Vanya had been a small child, had seen the entire massacre of her family, and then been sent, alone, to an orphanage in her town. Only to be adopted by an American family and transported to the U.S. without knowing even the smallest bit of English. Her adoptive family had been good to her, but her adoptive father was in a terrible car crash when Vanya was just twelve, and then she'd lost her adoptive mother to breast cancer at the age of twenty.

Leaving Vanya completely alone, until she met Abby a little over six months later, along with the original Whistler; they'd taught her everything she knew, and she'd become a member of the family, and together she and Abby had gotten Sommerfield, Dex, Hedges, and Zoe to become family as well.

"Vanya?"

She sighed heavily and replied with a voice already thick with sleep.

"What, King?"

"Are we good?" he asked her and she sighed again, snuggling back into his embrace and nodded.

"Yeah, we're good."

King nodded, satisfied and placed a tender kiss to Vanya's practically bare shoulder, his beard scratching her in a pleasant sort of way. Then he let himself drift off to sleep, praying that holding tight to Vanya would erase any nightmares for the both of them.


	10. Breakfast Plans

Abigail woke them up a few hours later, irritation laced into her features as she stood over the pair. She liked King, and she liked Vanya, and she didn't mind that they were friends, but anyone could tell that they both wanted more. Even Zoe saw it, hell; even Hedges noticed something was up. Abigail knew that she couldn't stop them if they decided that they wanted to do something about their connection but it didn't mean she had to be happy about it. It could very well put the team in danger, and that was something that Abigail would have no part in, nor put up with.

"Abby? What's up?" Vanya asked her as she yawned, stretching in, but not leaving, King's embrace.

"I need you two up, it's important; I think I've figured out what's going on." And with that she left the room, her air of 'touch me and die' in full force.

Vanya groaned, knowing that her day was going to be hell, and started to roll out of bed. King's arm tightened around her waist and he pulled her back into his chest.

"Don't go, warm." Was his grunted plea that made her giggle lightly to herself as she settled back against him, if only for a moment or two.

"We have to get up now, King."

"No." he growled against her shoulder, and she bit back the groan that had risen its way towards her throat.

"King…" she ground out as a warning, sounding very much like a disapproving school teacher and it was King's turn to bite back a groan as he thought about that particular scenario just a moment too long.

He rolled away from her to avoid any possible embarrassment on his part and she fell backwards into the bed at his sudden absence. She looked over at him, her sleepy eyes barely open, and he grinned at her, tugging her, blankets and all, towards his side of the bed. She grinned up at him as he leaned down to her height, his hands on either side of her head.

"Good morning, kitten."

A soft, contented sigh escaped her lips before she could halt its progress.

"Good morning, King."

He dropped a kiss to her forehead and helped her out of bed.

"What does Abigail want?" he questioned her as she stretched. He didn't really care, but he had to distract himself from the way she was twisting around, attempting to loosen her muscles.

"Dunno, just said that she had figured out what was going on, so let's see what's up."

He nodded, following her out of her room and down the hallway towards Abigail's office. She leaned against the doorframe and knocked.

"Hey Abby, you needed us?" she asked and Abigail took a sip of her coffee, waving them in. The earthy aroma of her drink just caused King's stomach to rumble and make him realize that it had been hours since he'd last had anything to eat.

"Yeah, I think I have an idea of what's going on with Danica and her cronies."

"What are they up to?" Vanya asked all traces of sleep gone from her voice now. She was pure business. King smiled softly to himself at just how quickly Vanya's moods could change; he liked that about her, that she was predictably unpredictable. His stomach growled low again and he attempted to valiantly ignore it.

Vanya didn't look at him but handed him Abby's cup of coffee. The most experienced Nightstalker gasped in an outraged fashion, but kept silent as King drained her mug and handed it back to Vanya with a smile of thanks. Abby grumbled under her breath something that sounded suspiciously like 'bitch' but Vanya ignored her and instead kept her attention on the computer screen.

"Did you hack into this database?" she questioned, sounding impressed.

Abby shook her head, coloring slightly.

"No, I had Hedges do it for me."

Vanya favored her friend with a teasing smile and looked over her shoulder once to wink at King.

"Exactly what did you have to do to get him to do it?"

It was no secret that Hedges thought Abigail Whistler the sexiest woman on the planet, and it was also no secret that she did not return the sentiment.

"Nothing! I asked him."

Vanya chose not to respond as King didn't even attempt to stifle his laughter at the obviously uncomfortable Abby. She narrowed her hazel eyes at him and scrolled down the page on the computer.

"These are police reports for the past couple of months. All of these are stolen items."

Vanya quirked an eyebrow.

"You think that Danica and her legion of the undead are using their powers and fangs for a little five-finger discount?"

Abby glared up at the redhead, who merely shrugged, looking nonplussed as King watched from the back of the room.

"That's exactly what I think."

"But why?" King spoke up and Abby sighed as she looked over at him.

"I'm not entirely sure, all I know is that these items are all very expensive, and came from a range of places, from homes to art galleries."

Vanya rubbed her chin in thought as her own stomach started to ache softly from hunger. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten a decent meal. She firmly pushed that thought away and settled on the task at hand.

"Is there anything tying the items together?"

Abby shrugged.

"There doesn't seem to be, some things are painting, vases, sculpture. It's all art, but other than that, nothing."

"What do a group of vampires need with priceless art?"

"I don't know, but I'm uncomfortable with the fact that they've stolen so much and from such different places."

"We need to get in and see these things, are there pictures in with the police report?" Vanya leaned over the computer but Abby shook her head.

"Nope, already looked, they must not enter those into the computer."

Vanya sighed dejectedly.

"Think you could get me an address?"

Abby chewed on the side of her thumbnail as she nodded.

"Sure."

"Good, you hungry?"

The brunette shook her head negatively, "No, I'm okay."

Vanya nodded, "Okay then, c'mon King, let's get breakfast, I'm freaking starved!"

King managed a strained smile and followed her out of the room towards the kitchen. Vanya didn't bother to flip on the lights as she padded silently, and barefoot, around the hideout. She had lived here for years with her makeshift family and knew it better than her own mind.

King followed behind her, just as silent, and headed immediately for the fridge as Vanya flipped on the lights to the kitchen.

"Eggs okay?" he asked her gently and she smiled, appreciative of the fact that he had asked.

"Yeah, eggs sound good, should I make toast and hash browns?" she asked him, sensing that he was upset, but knowing better than to ask him about it just yet.

"Please," he nodded as he headed over to the coffee pot and lifted it up, looking down at the last dredges of the coffee that Abby had made.

"She drank the whole damn pot." He sounded outraged which made Vanya giggle.

"I'll make a fresh one." She soothed.

"Thanks."

They each set to their separate tasks around the kitchen, neither talking, both finding the domestic sounds of making breakfast very soothing. Vanya started the coffee and then began chopping up the potatoes to start frying as King cracked the eggs and scrambled them up.

Just a few minutes later and they stood side by side at the stove, cooking their food, their arms bumping occasionally and their bodies so close that the heat radiated off them both to warm the other. If Vanya's eyes seemed to focus more on his chest than on the pan full of potatoes before her, she chalked it up to not having had sex in going on two years, and not on the fact that she loved the man. No, she was not going to think about it, she could be professional.

She could.

As long as she made him wear a shirt from now on.

"You gonna tell me what's got you so quiet?" Vanya finally asked as she stepped away from the stove long enough to pop a couple slices of bread into the toaster.

"I don't want you to go looking for Danica."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose out of the slightest of frustration.

"I know that you're afraid of her King, and I know that you hate her, but I still have to do my job. If she and that demented brother of hers are up to something, then we need to know about it and the sooner the better."

He shrugged as she stepped back beside him, stirring the potatoes and seasoning them as he continued to cook the eggs.

"I know, but I don't like it. I don't like the idea of her anywhere near you."

Vanya willed her heart to stop its conga dance inside her chest. King was a friend and nothing more.

"I know, I don't like the idea of having to be near her, but one of us has to go in to scope out the damage being done."

He stirred the eggs thoughtfully for a moment as Vanya turned the heat off the potatoes and retrieved the toast, popping two more slices in the toaster and reaching for the butter.

"I want to do it."

"King, I think that I'm perfectly capable of buttering toast," she teased him.

"No, I mean, I want to go in after Danica."

The butter knife clattered to the counter in what seemed a deafening roar to Vanya's ears. She spun to look at the man that she loved but could never have with wide eyes.

"What?"

"I want to do it," King reiterated as he started to pile two plates high with the eggs and hash browns. He frowned down at the plates and then snapped his fingers as a thought struck him. He turned to the refrigerator and opened the door.

"King, Danica will know you're there the second you walk in."

He shrugged as he dug through the contents of their fridge before huffing dejectedly and returning with a carton of orange juice.

"Three men in this house and no bacon, it's a travesty," he muttered to himself as Vanya continued to look blankly scandalized.

"King, this is serious, it's dangerous for you to go in."

"Not any more dangerous than it is for you, or Whistler." He retorted as he poured her a glass of juice and picked up the butter knife from the counter, placing it gently back in her hand just as the toaster popped.

She gaped at him as he retrieved the newest slices of toast and set them in front of her to be buttered before heading over to the coffee pot and pouring them both large mugs. Two sugars for her and milk for him, stirring the cups simultaneously with ease, having done it so often now that it was odd for him to stir just one cup.

"King," Vanya sighed heavily as all the plates, cups, and food were placed on the table, along with the silverware and the pair sat down to breakfast. They sat across from each other at the table, King staring Vanya down even as he ate.

"What?" she asked him and he at least had the decency to swallow his bite of toast before answering.

"You know that I'm right. Let me do this, I want to do this, I deserve the chance."

She bit into her own toast and chewed slowly, stalling for time as she attempted to think of a good reason that it should be she or Abby going instead of him. She couldn't. This meant that he was right; how annoying.

"Okay, you can come."

He scoffed.

"I want to…"

"And you will," she cut him off, "we'll do it together."

He seemed satisfied with that answer and dug into his breakfast with new gusto. Vanya just smiled and snuck glances at him every chance she got.

* * *

"Abby, got an address for me?" Vanya asked a little over an hour and a half later; the dishes had been washed and put away, she had managed to snag a shower with hot water and get dressed, King wasn't far behind her, she could hear his footsteps.

"Yeah, I got Danica's last known address, well, Hedges got it for me," she amended, "we can scope it out tonight, look for weak spots."

"Okay," Vanya nodded as she sensed King step up behind her. She opened her mouth to say something more when she noticed the slightly slack-jawed look on Abby's face.

"What?" she asked, turning to look over her shoulder in the direction Abby was fixed and being met with a dripping wet King, nothing more than a towel wrapped around his waist. She couldn't stop her jaw from dropping in a very odd and unladylike way. King was drying his hair with a second towel, the first slipping dangerously low on his hips, showing off his glyph tattoo.

"Something you needed King?" Vanya managed, her voice sounding higher-pitched and strangled even to her own ears, but if he noticed it, he didn't comment.

"Yeah, my shaving kit, you seen it?" he asked her a bit gruffly as he finished toweling off his hair.

"Uh, under the sink."

He nodded, smiled, and turned around to head back to the bathroom. Once he was out of earshot Abby started to laugh and Vanya turned to look at her, seeming confused.

"What's so funny?"

Abby just laughed harder, clutching her sides as she tried not to tumble right off her chair.

"You should have seen your face!" she howled.

Vanya blushed and pushed her friend good-naturedly.

"Oh shut up!"

* * *

Can I just say that I am terribly sorry for leaving this story for so long, you guys, really, hopefully someone out there is still reading and will review for me, please?

~Andrew's Slinky


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